​Young Salford stroke survivor takes on Manchester 10k

Elizabeth Kay, aged 23, from Salford is running 10k for charity just nine months after collapsing from a stroke. She will take part in the Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run on Sunday 20 May to raise funds for the Stroke Association, the charity that supported her recovery.

Her stroke happened in August 2017, while her dad was helping her to move into her new home. Elizabeth said: “I’d had a bad headache for around an hour. It then got worse and my legs just gave way and I collapsed. The paramedics could see my face had dropped on one side and my speech was slurred. I thought it may have been a stroke, but just didn’t think it could happen at my age.”

Elizabeth was taken straight to Salford Royal Hospital where she underwent a thrombectomy, an operation to remove the clot from her brain, which had caused the stroke. She also needed a craniotomy, to reduce pressure by giving her brain room to swell.

Elizabeth said: “I don’t remember anything at all about the first week n hospital. Although I could speak, my voice was different and I struggled to think of the right words. My left side was completely paralysed and I couldn’t even move my leg. After intense physiotherapy I learnt how to stand and take a couple of steps.

“The movement in my arm didn’t come back for the first month; in fact the doctors said there was a chance it may never return. Fortunately, I can now move my arm but my fingers and wrist can’t move properly.”

After two months in hospital undergoing rehabilitation, Elizabeth returned in January this year to have a titanium plate put into her skull.

Elizabeth added: “Before my stroke I was relatively active, running two to three times a week. One of my main goals was to get back to running again. When a trainer at my gym said they were training for the Manchester 10k, it just felt right to sign up and raise funds for the Stroke Association. After leaving hospital, I was visited at home every month by the charity’s local coordinator, Dawn. It’s helped me so much to talk to her about what I’ve been going through.”

Rebecca Owen, Community and Events Fundraiser at the Stroke Association, said: “A stroke can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time and it turns lives upside down in an instant. Elizabeth has come so far in her recovery and is a real inspiration to others.

“We’re thrilled she is taking on this challenge to raise much needed funds for the Stroke Association’s work and we’re looking forward to cheering her on as she makes her way through Manchester.There are around 1.2 million people in the UK living with the devastating impact of stroke, with the support of people like Elizabeth we will be able to help more stroke survivors and their families rebuild their lives.”

To sponsor Elizabeth, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kizzielay-stroke